I'm running for the HMGS Board of Directors

Friends,

If you are a current HMGS member, please consider voting for me, James Stanton, and these three other candidates for the HMGS Board of Directors:

Jared Fishman
John Spiess
Dave Waxtel

Jared Fishman and I are looking to expand the HMGS Teachers Program as well as other education endeavors that HMGS should be looking into. In my opinion the current Board has done a great job with this and the incumbents should keep their seats.

For years at HMGS conventions members have been talking about the “graying of the hobby” and how the younger generation is often distracted by screens before they get the chance to wander into the local hobby shop and discover miniature wargaming. There are many examples of teachers who run after school clubs that give kids who may be interested in gaming and games an opportunity to get together and play. Clubs are a great way to foster a “gaming community” in a school and can help with the painting of figures and building of terrain but can be limited in its reach.  One way to expose larger numbers of young people to the hobby is to help educators incorporate miniature wargaming into their classrooms and units. This method can cast a wider net as all students in a grade level would have hands on experience with historical miniature wargaming.

Mission Statement

The mission of the HMGS Cold Wars Teachers Program is to provide focused seminars and hands-on workshops for teachers, interested parents, and students in an effort to promote the use of historical miniature wargaming as a teaching tool in the classroom. That mission statement completely aligns with that of HMGS,Inc.: “HMGS, Inc. is a non-profit, charitable and educational 501(c)3 organization whose purpose is to promote the study of military history through the art of tabletop miniature wargaming.”

James Stanton

Gnome Wars - Cold Wars 2019

To All,

Here are a few images from the Gnome Wars game that I ran on Saturday night at Cold Wars. The Germans were trying to hold the castle from the allies.

The Undead rush through the breach in the wall...

The Leprechauns, British Marines, and the Cavemen/dinosaurs all rushed for the breach. It seemed the Germans holding the breach were going to get overrun, but the witch cast a spell and summoned the Undead army.  The skeletons rushed through the breach and entered the melee, causing chaos and plugging the breach for a bunch of turns.

Elias sorting out the melee. 

Everyone awaiting the outcome of the melee. Everyone who survived was lock in combat for the next turn.

Derrick "The Viking" attacking with the pirates. 

One unit of Swiss and the Sikhs press the center. They concentrated their mortar fire on the gate house and caused it to crumble. A mad and bloody dash ensued.

The Undead and Leprechauns still
fighting in front of the breach.

The Witch responded by sending the pumpkins (the pumpkins explode like mortar shots) and the zombies in that direction. The attacking pirates seize that opportunity and fling Lucky Lon over the wall.

The witch blowing up Swiss with the pumpkins...

A unit of Swiss get blown up on the bridge, which also destroys it, but that seems like a distraction as.....

Swiss come up through a tunnel and
Swiss Cheese a unit of Germans.

...two complete units of Swiss pop up through tunnels and "lay down the Swiss." As that is happening the dinosaurs rush through the breach causing general disarray.

The dreaded Cheese Suffocation rule comes int effect.

The allies took the left side of the castle but the two veteran players on the right side keep it from becoming an allied victory. We'll continue next convention.

Cold Wars 2019 - The Mine on Lipton-9

To All,

I played in an awesome spectacle put on by 'award-winning GM' Mike Lung at Cold Wars; The Mine on Lipton-9.

Eric Goodlander getting ready
to screw someone over...

The scenario starts with the Galacteers, the Valkeeri, and the Moles setting up a mining colony on the yellow planet. The space orcs are moving in looking to scavenge anything useful. A ship lands next to the wreckage in the middle of the board - The Robot Legion has arrived. Haters of anything organic they are on the planet to find a deadly virus and secure a nuke!

Readers of this Blog will recognize Bill G (guy in yellow
 shirt) trying to get Scott Lung to do his bidding. 

In the middle of the blue forest a group of Radon Zombies from the Ionosphere, along with their queen, have crash landed. In the wreckage the zombies are hiding a container of the "zombie virus" and, lo and behold, a couple of nukes. The Space Mice have set up a fort and are looking to capture a few Frigonians to eat on their long journey back to their home-world.

Andrew Goodlander, commanding the Frigonians, looks
 for something living to sacrifice. 

The native beings, the Frigonians, man the walls and get ready to defend their village. Sensing that their planet was about to host an all out war, they send out raiding parties to try to capture a "sacrifice" to their Cheese God. Once a sacrifice is made, the god will walk the planet ridding it of the invaders. 

Mike Lung winning a PELA Award for his game,
The Mine on Lipton-9.

 A break in the action as Mike Lung wins a Pour Encourager Les Autres, or PELA, Award. A Well deserved award for a guy who excels at all aspects of the hobby - Mike can sculpt, paint, and run a terrific game. Of course, from now on we will have to refer to him as "award winning GM," Mike Lung.

In the bottom right hand corner you can see
 the humans out of the fort.

The Moles, already planning an insurrection against the humans and their oppression, see the chaos as the time to rise up. They forced the humans out of their fort with an all out assault. The Galacteers and the Valkeeri see the unguarded Robot Legion ship and make a break for it. 

Above the virus is canister is opened....

But Bill G and the Radon Zombies open the zombie virus in the ship, turning the humans into zombies. (poor Robert!)

The Grymm moving up behind the mice.

Meanwhile, everything - zombies, moles, Grymm, worms - open up on the robot legion. The last functional robots abandon their ship and try to get to the minibot's ship.

The mice are making their move.

Meanwhile the mice, after ridding themselves of the minibots, start to head towards the Frigonian village for a snack.

Mike Lung and Bret Hunt focused on the action.

But soon realize that the Frigonians have sacrificed one of the orcs to their god, thus making him come to life. The destruction was on! All invaders made their way off planet.

My daughter Elizabeth, sister Karen, and Andrew Goodlander

Great scenario, awesome GM, terrific looking table, and a well run game put on by award winning GM, Mike Lung!

Robert, Eric and "Crazylegs" in the background.

I put these two pictures in to show Eric "Crazy Legs" Jacobson is always in Jazz Hands mode when a picture is imminent. 

Full Jazz hands in this shot. (I don't think Robert was into it)